Roberts goes from hoops to beach

As a guard for the Elon Fightin' Christians, Adam Roberts on occasion visited Charleston Southern's Bucdome — one of the smallest gyms in Division I basketball.

"I remember it well," Roberts said Wednesday. "They had this stage behind one of the baskets."

This week, Roberts returns to Charleston as a professional athlete in a much different venue — the beach volleyball courts of the AVP Crocs Tour Charleston Open at the Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island.

Roberts, 32 and a 1998 graduate of Elon (now known as the Phoenix), is something of a rare figure on the AVP Crocs Tour — a beach volleyball pro who was not an All-American indoor volleyball player at some Pac-10 powerhouse.

Instead, the native of High Point, N.C., played basketball at Elon back when that school competed in the Big South Conference against the likes of Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina. He didn't take up beach volleyball until his family moved to Myrtle Beach in 1995, and has never even played the indoor version of the sport.

"There are a few of us out here who did not play volleyball in college," Roberts said. "Most of the guys on tour played at UCLA or Stanford and kind of grew up together in California. But I am one of the few guys who pushed through from a different background."

When his family moved to Myrtle Beach, Roberts discovered that running and jumping in the sand was good for his basketball.

"I just started playing for fun, hanging out with buddies," he said. "But I found out it was helping my basketball. I was jumping higher, dunking easier, I started winning dunk contests. "So I used volleyball as a cross-training sport for the next four years. I was thinking about going overseas to play semipro basketball, but I decided to give the beach volleyball tour a try."

It took a few years for Roberts to settle in as a regular on the pro tour. He finished as high as 33rd on the points list in 2004, and won a career-best $5,800 in purses in 2006.

But unless you are one of the top players, beach volleyball is not a full-time job. The top-ranked pair of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser have career earnings of $1,057,192 and $591,790, respectively. But with his career total of $27,114, Roberts said he is fortunate to have supportive parents who still live in Myrtle Beach. His parents own Showstopper, a company that hosts dance contests all over the U.S. and the world, and Roberts does some work for them in the off-season.

"My parents ended up building a great house on the ocean, with a cool three-bedroom bachelor pad downstairs," he said. "You walk out and there's a hot tub and a volleyball court actually on our property. I'm super fortunate to have that, and I kind of try to get the top guys on the East Coast to come and stay with me and train."

When Roberts is home in Myrtle Beach, his parents' house becomes the center of Grand Strand volleyball. Dalhausser, who is 6-9 and is known as "The Thin Beast," is one of the tour players who has lived and trained there.

Dalhausser and Rogers already locked up a berth in the Olympics, set for Beijing later this summer, and are playing here. But with two other top teams competing in Prague this week in an effort to earn the U.S. team's second berth, Roberts said the Charleston Open should be just that — wide open.

"It does open it up," Roberts said. "We want those guys to win medals and do well for our country. But at the same time, it opens things up for the rest of us on the tour. Every four years this happens, and we all scoot up in the rankings.

"Everybody is ranked two or three spots higher than they would be, so we look at this weekend as a great opportunity to get some great finishes and move up in the ranks."

men's main draw entries:

Phil Dalhausser, Santa Barbara, Calif. / Todd Rogers, Solvang, Calif. (1); John Hyden, Sherman Oaks, Calif. / Brad Keenan, Santa Ana, Calif. (2); Stein Metzger, Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Mark Williams, Pasadena, Calif. (3); Nick Lucena, Santa Barbara, Calif. / Sean Scott, Redondo Beach, Calif. (4); Anthony Medel, Hermosa Beach, Calif. / Fred Souza, Redondo Beach, Calif. (5); Ty Loomis, Newport Beach, Calif. / Hans Stolfus, Costa Mesa, Calif. (6); Jason Ring, Newport Beach, Calif. / Aaron Wachtfogel, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (7); Ryan Mariano, Lake Forest, Calif. / Ed Ratledge, Huntington Beach, Calif. (8); Matt Olson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. / Kevin Wong, Honolulu (9); Pedro Brazao, San Pedro, Calif. / Jose Loiola, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (10); John Mayer, Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Will Strickland, Malibu, Calif. (11); Russ Marchewka, Costa Mesa, Calif. / Mike Placek, Del Mar, Calif. (12); Adam Jewell, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. / Jeff Nygaard, Long Beach, Calif. (13); Albert Hannemann, Torrance, Calif. / Austin Rester, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (14); Vincent Robbins, San Diego / Adam Roberts, Myrtle Beach, S.C. (15); Scott Davenport, Redondo Beach, Calif. / AJ Mihalic, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (16); Braidy Halverson, San Luis Obispo, Calif. / Jason Lee, Venice, Calif. (17); Mike Morrison, Encinitas, Calif. / Ty Tramblie, Newport Beach, Calif. (18); Jeff Carlucci, Torrance, Calif. / Casey Patterson, Ventura, Calif. (19); Billy Allen, Venice, Calif. / Paul Baxter, Venice, Calif. (20); Mike DiPierro, Pompano Beach, Fla. / Mark Van Zwieten, Pompano Beach, Fla. (21); Ihor Akinshyn, Mahwah, N.J. / Justin Phipps, Dunedin, Fla. (22); Jeff Murrell, Tarzana, Calif. / Jason Wight, San Diego (23); Duncan Budinger, Encinitas, Calif. / Leonardo Moraes, San Diego (24).

Women's main draw entries

Nicole Branagh, Torrance, Calif. / Elaine Youngs, Durango, Colo. (1); Tyra Turner, Fort Myers Beach, Fla. / Rachel Wacholder, Redondo Beach, Calif. (2); Jennifer Boss, San Clemente, Calif. / April Ross, Costa Mesa, Calif. (3); Annett Davis, Valencia, Calif. / Jenny Johnson Jordan, Tarzana, Calif. (4); Dianne DeNecochea, San Diego / Barbra Fontana, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (5); Angie Akers, Redondo Beach, Calif. / Holly McPeak, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (6); Carrie Dodd, El Segundo, Calif. / Tatiana Minello, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (7); Jenny Kropp, Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Nancy Mason, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (8); Ashley Ivy, Austin / Heather Lowe, Redondo Beach, Calif. (9); Michelle More, Redondo Beach, Calif. / Suzanne Stonebarger, Redondo Beach, Calif. (10); Jennifer Fopma, Bellflower, Calif. / Jenny Pavley, Redondo Beach, Calif. (11); Angela Lewis, San Diego / Priscilla Lima, Lafayette, La. (12); Paula Roca, Redondo Beach, Calif. / Stacy Rouwenhorst, Cypress, Calif. (13); Sara Dukes, Huntington Beach, Calif. / Chrissie Zartman, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (14); Angela Knopf, Los Angeles / Saralyn Smith, Huntington Beach, Calif. (15); Alicia Polzin, Tarzana, Calif. / Janelle Ruen, Newport Beach, Calif. (16); Whitney Pavlik, Laguna Beach, Calif. / Jennifer Snyder, Long Beach, Calif. (17); Jenelle Koester, Redondo Beach, Calif. / Sarah Straton, Redondo Beach, Calif. (18); Stacy Nicks, Santa Monica, Calif. / Alicia Zamparelli, Redondo Beach, Calif. (19); Paige Davis, San Diego / Courtney Guerra, Santa Barbara, Calif. (20); Olivia Waldowski, Irvine, Calif. / Kelly Wing, Murrieta, Calif. (21); Gabriela Roney, Orange, Calif. / Lenka Urbanova, Aliso Viejo, Calif. (22); Sara Fredrickson, Redondo Beach, Calif. / Allie Griffin, Rancho Palos Verde, Calif. (23); Johanna Lehman, Topanga, Calif. / Jean Mathews, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (24).